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Laser Cutting Tutorial

Introduction: Laser Cutting Tutorial

Step by step instructions on how to laser cut a ballerina charm

Step 1: Thingiverse

Go to www.thingiverse.com and pick what you want to design! When you have the thing you want to make, click the blue button on the right side that says "Download This Thing". Then, scroll down and click the button that says "Download All Files".

Step 2: Upload to 123D Make

Open the file in your downloads and pick which one you want (make sure it's a .stl)

Drag the one you want to your desktop.

Open 123D Make and upload the file that you chose from your desktop

Step 3: Pick the Size That You Want

Click the settings button and change the thickness (height) to .195 and make sure the units are in inches.

Under "construction techniques", pick stacked slices

Step 4: Get Plans and Export

In the toolbar, scroll down to "Get Plans" and click the icon on the right. Make sure that the file type is a DXF. Once you do that, you'll click "Export" at the bottom of the screen. You can then save your print to the desktop.

Step 5: Illustrator

Drag the file from your desktop to Adobe Illustrator. Then save your print as an .ai and convert it to Illustrator 8, and you're ready to laser cut!